Houthis seize key Red Sea islands, tighten grip on vital shipping route

Cairo: Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have captured two strategic islands in the southern Red Sea, Yemeni government and Houthi officials said Monday, expanding their control near one of the world’s key maritime chokepoints.

The rebels took control of Greater Hanish and Lesser Hanish after hundreds of forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognised government withdrew from the islands, according to two government officials and a Houthi official. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to journalists.

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The latest Houthi advance comes as the rebels expand their presence around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a vital passage connecting the Red Sea with the open ocean. The route has gained further importance amid the US war with Iran because it provides an alternative route to the Strait of Hormuz for Saudi oil shipments heading toward Asian markets.

The Hanish islands are located about 160 kilometres (100 miles) north of Bab el-Mandeb. Their capture follows the Houthis’ seizure last week of the nearby mainland port city of Mokha and Mayun, an island located within the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

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The advances have brought the Houthis to within about 32 kilometres (20 miles) of a US military base in Djibouti, across the strait.

The rebels have been targeting Saudi oil infrastructure and shipping in the Red Sea for more than a month, increasing pressure on global oil prices and giving Iran additional leverage during its war with the United States.

Saudi-backed government forces have been trying to regroup and counter the Houthi offensive, but the rebels’ recent gains have faced little apparent resistance.

The renewed fighting is threatening to push Yemen back into a full-scale civil war after a truce that had largely kept the country quiet since 2022. Along the Red Sea coast, the Houthis have also launched an offensive deeper inland, particularly in Taiz province, a longstanding flashpoint.

Yemen’s Human Rights Ministry said about 150 civilians have been killed in fighting since Sept. 3, including a pregnant woman who was killed Saturday in a village in Taiz. More than 200 civilians have been wounded, the ministry said.

Thousands of families have fled Taiz and neighbouring provinces in the past day, according to Khanzad Shah, acting head of Islamic Relief, which operates in the area.

“Many of them don’t have enough food or water as they had to flee with whatever they could carry. In some areas, whole villages have reportedly emptied,” he said.

The United Nations estimates that more than 80,000 people have been displaced over the past two weeks. More than 2,000 people have crossed the Red Sea by boat to Djibouti, according to the UN.

The escalation threatens to reignite a war that has devastated Yemen for more than a decade, killing more than 150,000 people and pushing the country toward famine.

The Houthis have controlled northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, since 2014, as well as much of the country’s western heartland where most of the population lives. The internationally recognised government, backed by various militias, controls much of the south and east, including the strategic port of Aden.

The Hanish islands had previously been controlled by the United Arab Emirates and its southern Yemeni allies. The UAE dismantled its military infrastructure there earlier this year after relations deteriorated with Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government.

Saudi Arabia spent years conducting an air campaign against the Houthis while supporting Yemen’s government and allied militias. However, Riyadh has appeared reluctant to return fully to the conflict despite renewed Houthi attacks on its oil infrastructure and shipping.

Saudi authorities activated air-raid sirens Sunday afternoon in the southern city of Abha and Khamis Mushait province, urging residents to take shelter amid warnings of incoming fire. Both areas, close to the Yemeni border, have faced repeated Houthi attacks in recent weeks.

Houthi spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said the rebels had launched dozens of missiles and drones at King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait, targeting hangars, radar installations and ammunition depots. His statement issued Monday did not specify when the attack occurred. The Houthis frequently announce responsibility for attacks hours or days after they take place.

Saudi Arabia had not immediately commented on the Houthi claim.

Saudi civil defence officials said overnight that a projectile landed in another area near the Red Sea border with Yemen, injuring two people and damaging a mosque and several other buildings. The statement blamed the Houthis.

Saudi Arabia did not announce any fresh strikes against Houthi positions.

Meanwhile, Yemen’s government military said Sunday that it had carried out airstrikes against Houthi positions in Mokha, the coastal town of Dhubab and other areas of Taiz province. The Houthis reported attacks by Saudi-backed forces in Taiz and artillery fire in Saada province, a stronghold along Yemen’s northern border with Saudi Arabia.

Sultan al-Arada, a member of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, described the collapse of government forces in Mokha, located about 80 kilometres (50 miles) from Bab el-Mandeb, and elsewhere along the west coast as “painful and regrettable.”

He said in a televised interview aired late Saturday that forces “are currently regrouping and will return to the battle.”

Presidential council leader Rashad al-Alimi sought to play down the setbacks Sunday, describing them as “incidental,” according to comments published by the state-run SABA news agency.

The government, he said, “will remain clear and fixed on the goal of retrieving (state) institutions and of reclaiming sovereignty over all national territories.”